In the News

May 1, 2012 — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday unanimously ruled that a proposed "personhood" ballot measure (Initiative Petition No. 395) that would have defined a fertilized egg as a person is unconstitutional, The Oklahoman reports (McNutt, The Oklahoman, 4/30).

The suit, filed on behalf of several Oklahoma doctors and residents, alleged that the amendment "would confer rights on a fertilized egg that trump the rights of each woman to determine whether and when to conceive and whether to carry a pregnancy to term." ACLU and CRR said that the amendment is unconstitutional, would ban abortion under all circumstances and would interfere with a woman's right to use certain forms of birth control and access certain medical procedures, such as in vitro fertilization.

Personhood Oklahoma, the antiabortion-rights group behind the ballot measure, launched an petition on March 1 to collect 155,000 signatures from registered Oklahoma voters. The group has said its goal is to tee up a challenge to Roe v. Wade and ultimately outlaw abortion (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/30).

Monday's Ruling

The nine justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court said the proposed amendment is "void on its face" and conflicts with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which allows states to pass some abortion restrictions but bars them from overturning the constitutional right to abortion (Bassett, Huffington Post, 4/30).

Abortion-rights advocates praised the court's decision. "This amendment would have run roughshod over the fundamental, constitutionally protected reproductive rights of all Oklahoma women," CRR president Nancy Northup said (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 4/30).

Dan Skerbitz, director of Personhood Oklahoma, said the group will consider its options, including the possibility of pushing for the Legislature to approve a resolution to put the measure directly on the ballot (The Oklahoman, 4/30).

Gov. Fallin Signs Bill on Listening to Fetal Heartbeat

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) on Friday signed into law a bill (SB 1274) that will require physicians to offer women a chance to listen to a fetal heartbeat prior to an abortion, KTUL reports. The original version of the bill would have required women to listen to the heartbeat, but it was amended in the Senate.

The law is scheduled to take effect on Nov. 1 (Montgomery, KTUL, 4/28).

Video Round Up

N.C. Gov. To Break Campaign Promise on Abortion Bills

AP/ABC News 11's Ed Crump discusses how North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) will break his campaign pledge to not sign any abortion restrictions if he signs a 72-hour mandatory delay bill into law. Watch the video

Datapoints

See where states rank on reproductive rights across the U.S. Plus, find out how states are imposing more restrictions on and limiting women's access to abortion. Read more

At A Glance

"Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale."

— Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, on a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld major portions of a Texas antiabortion-rights law. Read more